Monthly Archives: October 2011

Seven years ago, I had the visage of a ravenous teenager adamant in conquering the world. The circle of friends I had then consisted of people a few years older than me. A motley crowd, to say the least. To conclude that I was eager would be to understate in so many ways. Oh I was eager, all right. Eager to belong in a group, eager to grow up, eager to reach newfangled territories that I was shunned to tread for years past.

But besides that, it was the top of the world for me. At nineteen, I was at the peak of my adolescent years, when raging hormones and clamor for freedom and independence are at the extreme.

Being in the pink of health (not that I am sickly now), the options for me were endless. I did anything I fancy just because I could. Or I couldn’t but tried anyway. A rebel to my father’s admonitions and unorthodox in the face of strangers. I stood out all right. I was a girl trapped in boy’s clothes. Without my pony tail, I wouldn’t be so sure if one could spot the difference. I hobnobbed many times that it was nearly as painfully repetitive as M-W-F classes.

But I didn’t do drugs. I didn’t have tattoos of any kind–permanent or washable. No ugly piercings except two more in my right ear, which I did so meself due to emotional outrage. I was just that. EMO.

Fast-forward to 2011. The transformation, you could say, is stupendous. The unnecessary piercings have healed. The all-black outfit has gone to the deep recesses of the closet, retrieved only during timely occasions like burials. And late-night drinking sessions have long been over. Most importantly, the grey curtain of ill foreboding has been peeled off, unveiling a bright sky of hope, illuminating the room with brightness and cheerfulness, baring a clearer vision of unending possibilities.

Now each waking moment is greeted with a sliver of sunbeam, as if God from up high is calling, “Wake up, child. I give you this gift of a new day. Use it well.” Now that famous TV advertisement that asks, Para kanino ka bumabangon? All of a sudden, it’s not too difficult to answer anymore.

I should think it unlikely to revert back to the old dark curtains now. And this amber-and-orange bed sheet suits the room just fine.

While absolute dependence on other people is not good, having people around to share your ups and downs is a sweet blessing any man could have.

I’ve been poring over some ditsy things in my mind lately that I sometimes find myself staring into space. Mostly rationalizing whether my decisions have been right and whether the hopes I have for tomorrow would come to fruition. While analyzing things is generally good, there’s a thin line that separates it from worrying. Too much thinking about things leads to worrying, which, as we know, is unhealthy. So to avoid crossing over, God created people to hold us and keep us from dire straits. They often come in threes–family, friends, and, in rare occasions, strangers.

Just now, I found my blessing in having people in my life. While I’ve been losing my mind into space thinking about mundane stuff and whatnot, the husband deliberately interrupted my train of thought with a song and silly dance moves to go with it. In he came right in my full view and sang an action song while flapping imaginary wings and strutting invisible bird tail. I couldn’t help but titter at his silly antics. He’s such a clown! 😉

Ang mga ibon, na lumilipad

Ay mahal ng Diyos, ‘di kumukupas

Ang mga ibon na lumilipad

Ay mahal ng Diyos, ‘di kumukupas

‘Wag ka nang malungkot.

Oh, praise the Lord!

No man is an island. When God created the earth, he did not make one but two people–Adam and Eve. Which means God wants us to live with one another. He wants us to have relationships to cherish and keep in good times and in bad. Our troubles should not diminish our faith, for they give God the opportunity to demonstrate his power. And you know what I discovered? Our god is a happy god. In times when we feel downcast, he taps other humans to entertain us while he’s busy working on our prayer request. Our god is an awesome god. And he has the awesomest customer service in the world!

It’s been a long time since I watched anime. I have become busy juggling work and wife chores that I barely find time anymore. In fact, I’m now severely outdated with the whereabouts of Naruto and Ichigo. I used to religiously watch every episode on YT or read the manga since it’s more updated, but eventually, the waiting game wore me out. (It takes days or weeks before the next episode is made available on both media.) But if there’s a will, there’s a way. So last week, my little otaku self indulged into some quality time with a 2006 anime movie a friend recommended. With its title, you could easily deduce it’s about time travel, but wait, there’s more.

If you’re an avid reader of this blog site, you should probably know by now that I don’t especially have the same level of interest between shojo and shonen. I prefer the latter type of anime because they’re more action-packed and less cheesy. But one of my delusional dreams is to time travel, so though this movie is obviously shojo, it passed straightway to my finicky taste. It’s about a high school girl who falls in love with his friend and classmate who, unbeknownst to her, is someone from the faraway future where a technology to time travel already exists.

The story revolves around three friends: Makoto (the lead character), Chiaki (the boy from the future), and Kosuke (another guy friend). Makoto would accidentally acquire a power to time leap where she could go back minutes or hours before an event and edit some details to achieve a more pleasant result. For example, one time, she was speeding fast on her bicycle that she was run over by a train. Yes, I typed that right. She was hit by the train when she failed to halt at the Stop sign. But when she opened her eyes, she found herself back to minutes before the accident–alive and well. Later on, she uses her power to help other people.

But all good things must come to an end. She would discover that Chiaki is the real owner of that power. He misplaced the walnut-shaped container of the time leap formula that’s why he hasn’t been able to go back to his time–the future. Chiaki confesses that he would have to erase Makoto’s memories of him because nobody must know about the existence of the time leap technology, for it might change the timeline and affect history.

A good many scenes of this movie are potential tear jerkers if not for the comedic flavor of the lead character’s bawls. Remember Judy Abbott? All right, I am not gonna spoil the whole story out for you so go watch it. In case you’ll find the ending hanging (as I did), watch the 2010 version (not an anime) and I’m sure you’ll glean more understanding from there. It’s more of a sequel to the anime.